Machine for applying adhesive tape or labels



Nov. 21, 1933. J. GECZY MACHINE FOR APPLYING ADHESIVE TAPE OR LABELS Filed Feb. 11, 1932 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 IN V 2 TOR.

A T T ORNE YS Nov. 21, 1933- J. GECZY MACHINE FOR APPLYING ADHESIVE TAPE OR LABELS Filed Feb. 11, 1932 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 A TTORNEYS.

NOV. 21, 1933. GECZY 1,936,357

MACHINE FOR APPLYING ADHESIVE TAPE 0R LABELS Filed Feb. 11, 1932 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 46 5 QINVENTOR.

' l A TTORNEYS.

Patented Nov. 21, 1933 uNrr-so srarss MACHINE FOR. APPLYINGADH'ESIVE. TAPE. 0R LABELS Joseph Geczy, Maplewood, N. J. Application February 11, 1932. Serial No. 592,213 14' Claims." (01. 216-25) This invention relates in general-to a machine for applyingadhesive tape or labels to packages or the like, one object of the invention being to provide a novel and improved machine of this character whereby, for example, paper tape having adhesive upon one side thereof, may be fed, moistened and applied to a package or the like in one continuous operation and by simple move ment of'the machine over the package or other surface to which the tape or label is to be applied.

Another object is to provide such a machine embodying novel and improved features of'construction whereby tape may be applied to a plurality of adjacent angular-1y disposed surfaces, for example to the top and ends of a box, in one continuous operation.

Other objects are to provide a machinaof the character described embodying novel and improved features of construction includingmeans, forexample, a roller, operated by contact there,- or" with a surface for driving means for feeding adhesive tapeor the like from a supply to. a means for pressing the tape into contact with said surface; to provide in such a machine means for directing the tape tocth'e pressing means'at angle and' in the direction opposite to that of movement of the machine to overcome the normal curling" action of the tape and ensure that the endthereof shall be properly applied to the-surfacej to provide in a tape or label-applying machine, in-combinationwith means for supporting a roll of tape or the ike and means for severing apiece of the tape to be applied to the surface, an indicatorhavingfa predetermined relation to the severing means and past which the; tape moves, for indicating where the tape should be severed; to provide'a tape or label-applying'machine including a roller for driving the tape feeding means operated by itscontact to the surface to'wliich the tape isto be applied, said roller being" in advance of pressing means forpressing the tape into contact with said surface; to provide a tape or label-applying machine'which-shall embody a minimumnumber or simpleand inexpensive parts, which shall be easily manually operabl'e, and which shall be positive and reliable inoper'ation; and to obtain other advantages and results as will be brought out by the following description.

deferring to the accompanying drawings, in

which corresponding and like parts are designated throughout the several views-by-the same reference'characters, H

Figure 1- is a side elevation of: a tape or labelapplying machine embodying my invention, showing the manner of using it;

Figure 2 is a top plan view of the machine;- Figure 3 is a vertical longitudinal sectional'view, on the'line 33 of Figure 4; Figure 4 is a horizontal sectional view, on the line 4-4 of FigureB, with the water reservoir removed;

Figure 5 is a similar view, on the line 5-'-5-of Figure 3, and V Figure 6- is an enlarged fragmentary transverse vertical sectional View, on the. line 6-6 of Figure 4. p

Specifically describingv the illustrated embodiment of theinvention,- themachine includes-a frame which comprises two spaced and" parallel sidepiecesl which are shown-as being-substantially identical inshape. These two side pieces are rigidly connected together by a crosspiece 2 to which is-connected a-handle 3 for manipulating the-machine. At the'top ofv the frame each side piece is provided with an'arm-, and ashaft 5- for supporting a roll 6 of adhesive sheet material is'removably mounted in-saidarmsA so as to'pass through a central opening in the roll 6 and mount the roll between the arms4= At their bottom edgesthe frame pieceslhave substantially straight portions- 7 to overlie one surface to which; the :adhesive--material is tobe applied, for: example the-top side A of a-boxB. Intermediatetheir lengths, these bottom. edges of the frame pieces'are provided with-arms iron which are-mounted 'presser rollers 9 so that said rollers are below the plane of the bottom edges of the side pieces 1. As shown, there are preferably two rol-lers; one mounted at each end of a yoke 10 which ispivotallymountedintermediate its'ends at lion and between-the arms 8, so that the yoke and rollers have a slight oscillating motion withrespect to the arms 8, which motion may be limited by-one end of the shaft of one roller 9 projecting through" a slot 12 in one of the arms 8.; These presserrollers-9ware so mounted with respect to the portions 7 of the frame; that when said portions 7' are resting upon or approximately parallel to the topT-side A of a box or the like, the presser rollers 9 may be arranged in juxtaposition or to contact with an adjacent side C of the box or the like irram gular relation to the side'A, as clearly shown in Figures 1 and 3 of the drawings. At the forward end of the frame and adjacent thebottom thereoi is journaled a driving roller 13 for drivingmeans for feeding the tapefromthe. roll 6.

This feeding means'includesa pair of cooperating rollers 14 and 15 each carried by a sleeve 16 which is mounted to rotate on a shaft 17 which is in turn journaled in brackets 19 secured to the inner sides of the respective side pieces 1. These rollers are arranged with their axes parallel to the bottom edge of the frame and to the axes of the presser rollers 9, and are spaced apart a distance to frictionally receive between them the tape from the roll 6 which is fed from the roll around a rod 20 at the rear of the machine and then downwardly over a curved guide 21 formed on one of a pair of plates 22 connected to and mounted between the brackets 19. These two plates 22 have openings 23 through which the peripheries of the respective. rollers 14 and 15 extend to grip the strip of adhesive material between them, as clearly shown in Figures 3 and 6 of the drawings.

For driving the feed rollers 14 and 15, each shaft 1'7 has a collar 24 pinned thereon. A spring pawl 25 is mounted on each of the collars 24 and engages a ratchet 26 connected to the sleeve 16, as clearly shown in Figures 4 and 6. The corresponding ends of the shafts 17 are provided with sprockets 27 which are connected by a chain 28 to a sprocket 29 mounted on the shaft of the driving roller 13. The chain 28 passes beneath one sprocket 27 and around the other sprocket, as shown in Figures 3 and 4, so as to drive the respective rollers in opposite directions and pull the tape from the roll 6 as the driving roller'13 is rotated in the direction in which it would be rotated upon forward movement of the machine over a surface with the driving roller in contact with such surface. The pawls 25 will slip over the respective ratchets 26 upon rotation of the driving roller 13 in the opposite direction, so that the feed rollers 14 and 15 will not be rotated backwardly. To prevent the rollers from being rotated backwardly, and at the same time permit them to be rotated backwardly if desired, I may utilize a stop pawl 30 mounted upon one of the brackets 19 and engaging a second ratchet 31 on the sleeve 16 of one of the feed rollers. This stop pawl has a handle portion 32 for releasing the pawl from the ratchet when it is desired to rotate the feed rollers backwardly Mounted between the side pieces 1 beneath the feed rollers 14 and 15, is a moistening device which comprises a fountain 33 having a felt wick or moistening pad 34 therein, with a portion thereof projecting through an opening 35 in the fountain to be contacted by the adhesive side of the tape as it is fed by the rollers 14 and 15 to the presser rollers 9. Moistening liquid is supplied to the fountain by a reservoir 36 which has an outlet tube 37 fitted into a tube 38 in the fountain, whereby the liquid is fed by gravity from the reservoir to the fountain. The outlet tube 37 of the reservoir has a tight fit 39 with the tube 38 of the fountain at the outer end of the latter, while the inner portion of the outlet tube 37 is in spaced relation to the tube 33,

l and the tube 38 has vent openings 40 and 41 to permit ingress of air into the fountain. With this arrangement, the liquid in the fountain is maintained at a constant level. Preferably, the inner end of the moistening pad is bifurcated with one arm at the bottom of the fountain and the other arm at the top of the fountain, so that contact of the pad with the liquid is ensured with the machine in all operative positions.

As the tape leaves the feed rollers 14 and 15 it is directed over the moistening end of. th P l 34, and for pressing the tape into contact with the moistening pad, I may utilize a presser plate 42 which receives the tape between it and the corresponding wall of the fountain and is drawn toward the moistening pad by tension springs 43.

Preferably, the tape is directed by the feed rollers and the presser plate 42 toward the presser rollers 9 at an angle and in the direction opposite to that of the movement of the machine during the application of the tape to a surface. This manner of feeding the tape compensates for the natural tendency thereof to curl, and ensures the end of the tape being properly applied to the surface.

For severing the moistened piece of tape from the strip, I may .utilize a knife mechanism including a fixed blade 44 mounted on the brackets 19 beneath the feed rollers, with which cooperates an oscillating blade 45 which is pivotally mounted at one end at 46 upon one end of the fixed blade 44. The oscillating blade is actuated into operative relation to the fixed blade by a link 47 which is connected to an operating lever 48 pivotally mounted on the cross-piece 2, and the oscillating blade is normally swung away from the fixed blade by a tension spring 49.

In operation of the machine, and assuming that it is desired to apply the tape to three sides A, C and D of a box, as shown in Figure 1, the driving roller 13 is placed 'upon the surface A adjacent the right-hand end thereof in Figure 1, after which the machine is pushed by the handle 3 over the surface A toward the left. This action causes the feed rollers 14 and 15 to feed the end of the tape downwardly in front of the presser rollers 9, as indicated at 50, and in juxtaposition to the side C of the box. The machine is then manipulated to force the rollers 9 and the end 50 of the tape into contact with the side C of the box, whereupon the frame is swung upwardly about the driving roller 13 as a fulcrum to cause the rollers 9 to roll over the end 50 of-the tape. This brings the rollers 9 to the top surface A of the box, whereupon movement of the machine is continued over the side A with the driving roller 13 and one presser roller 9 rolling along said surface. The feed of the tape is continued by the driving roller 18 and feed rollers 14 and 15, and the tape is pressed into contact with the surface A by the presser roller 9. This action is continued until the presser roller 9 approaches the other end of the surface A, whereupon the tape is severed by manipulation of the operating lever 48 of the knife mechanism whichsevers the tape with a sufficient amount for application to the side D of the box. The movement of the machine is continued to roll the presser rollers 9 over the side D of the box, as shown at E in Figure 1 of the drawings, which action presses the end of the tape into contact with the sides D. The movement of the machine downwardly is limited by engagement of the end portions 51 of the bottom edges of the frame pieces 1 with the top side A.

If desired, indicating marks 52 and 53 may be provided on the outer sides of the side pieces 1 to indicate respectively the proper position for starting movement of the machine and for severing the strip. Initially the machine is placed on the top side A with the mark 52 in line with the side 0 of the box, and this ensures a proper length of tape being fed for application to the side C when the machine is pushed over the sideA. Then when the mark 53 reaches a point in alinement with the side D of the box, the knife mechanism isactuated to sever the strip,which ensures a proper length'of "the tape for application to thesid'eD. It "will beunderstood'that this is possible'becausethe udriving roller 13 and its operative connection with the feed rollers li and 15 will cause thefeeding ofa certain amount of tape for-a given movement of the roller 1 3 over a surface. 7

In some instances, the tape may have a continuous series of labels 'or' other inscriptions thereon so that it will be desirable to sever the tape between the labels or at acertain point with respect to the inscriptions. 'To facilitate :this result, I may provide an indicator:54 pivotally mounted-on therod' 20 'andhavingaloop 55 through which the tape passes from the roll to the feed rollers. This loop portion of theindicator has a predeterminedrelation to the knife -mechanism so'that when a certain point, for:ex-

ample the space between two labels, is opposite the loop portion of the indicator, a corresponding point, for example between two other labels,

should be operated to sever the tape.

To accommodate rolls of'different lengths, and also to provide a drag to retard-'unrolling of the tape from the roll, I may provide a resilientfriction plate '56 at eachside of the roll 6, said friction plate having an opening 51'? to receive the shaft '5, and a bifurcated -extension58 to engage notches 59 in the edges of the plates 22. These friction plates 56 may also have notches :60 to fit into grooves 61 in the rod 20, .the'grooves '61 being in alinement with the notches 59'. By placing the friction plates 56 in different notches 59 and grooves 61, the distance between the plates may be varied to accommodate rolls of different lengths. For forcing the plates into frictional contact with the ends of the roll, I may utilize compression springs 62 between the respective side pieces 1 and friction plates 56, the compression of the springs being variable by screws 63. 7

To guide the operator in applying the tape, for example over a joint between two cover sections of a box, the driving roller 13 may be formed with a groove 64 so that by causing constant alinement of said groove with the joint, as indicated at 65 in Figure 4 of the drawings, the operator will be assured that the tape will be accurately applied to the joint.

It will be observed that the machine is compact and small, so that it may be easily and conveniently manually handled, and that it may be used in different positions. The driving roller 13 being in advance of the presser rollers 9 in the direction of movement of the machine, assures an accurate feeding of the tape in the proper amount, and the feeding of the tape over the curved guide 21 and at an angle in the direction opposite to that of the direction of movement of the machine, effectually compensates for the tendency of the tape to curl, both transversely and longitudinally. The machine enables the application of a continuous strip of tape to three adjacent angularly disposed surfaces in one continuous operation.

Obviously should it be desired to use the machine for applying separate sheets such as labels, a hopper for the sheets might be substituted for the shaft 5 and roll 6, and the feed rollers 14 and 15 would feed the sheets from tion, it'should be understood thatthis ls prisheet materialto be applied to a surface, means for moistening the adhesive, means for pressing said sheet material into contact with said surpr'essing said sheet material into Contact with the hopper to the moistening de-viceand presser rollers.

While I have shown and" described the'invention as embodied in certain-details of construc- 8 (l marily for the purpose of illustrating theprin- .ciples of the invention, and that many'modifications and changes may be made'in the details of construction without departing from the spirit or scope of the invention.

Having thus described the invention, what I claim is:

1. In a machine of the characteridescribed, a frame, means for holding a supply of adhesive face'during movement of said frame oversaid surface, means for feeding said sheet material from said holding means into operative relation to said'moist'ening means'for mo'isteningsaidam hesive and intooperative relation to said pressin'g means, and means operated by contact thereof with said surface as said frame-is moved over said surface for driving said feeding means.

2. In a machine of'the characterdescribed, a frame, means for holding continuous str-ip'of adhesive sheet material to be applied toa surface, means for moistening the adhesive, means for said surface during movement of said frame over said surface, means for feedingsaid sheet mate-rial from said holding means into operative relation-to said moisten'i'ng means formoistening said adhesive and into operative relation to'said pressing means, means operated by contact thereof with said surface as said frame is moved over said surface for driving said feeding means, and means for severing a piece of said material from said strip after said piece has been 'moistened.

3. In a machine of *the character described, a frame, means for holding a supply of adhesive sheet material to be applied to two adjacent angularly disposed surfaces, means for moistening the adhesive, means for pressing said sheet material into contact with said surfaces during movement of said frame over said surfaces, means for feeding said sheet material from said holding means into operative relation to said 1125 moistening means for moistening said adhesive and into operative relation to said pressing means, and means operated by contact thereof with said surfaces as said frame is moved over said surfaces for driving said feeding means, the means for driving said feeding means being in advance of said pressing means in the direction of movement of the machine.

4. In a machine of the character described, a frame, means on said frame for holding a supply of adhesive sheet material to be applied toa surface, means for moistening the adhesive, a presser roller on said frame for rolling said sheet material into contact with said surface during movement of said frame over said surface, 00- operating feed rollers to receive said sheet material between them and feed said material from said holding means into operative relation to said moistening means for moistening the adhesive and into operative relation to said presser "45 roller, a driving roller on said frame to roll over said surface, and an operative connection between said driving roller and said feed rollers.

5. The machine set forthin claim 4, wherein said driving roller is in advance of said presser roller in the direction of movement of the machine.

6. The machine set forth in claim 2, with the addition of an indicator on said frame past which said strip is moved by said feeding means and in a predetermined relation to said means for severing the strip for indicating the proper point of severing the strip.

'7. The machine set forth in claim 2, with the addition of an indicator on said frame having a loop through, which said strip slides and in a predetermined relation to said means for severing the strip for indicating the'proper point of severing the strip.

8. The machine set forth in claim 3, with the addition of a guide for directing said material from said feeding means toward said pressing means at an angle and in the direction opposite to that of the movement of the machine.

9. The machine set forth in claim 4, wherein the bottom of said frame has an angularly offset portion on which said presser roller is mounted whereby said driving roller can be rolled over one of two adjacent angularly disposed surfaces to feed said material for application to the other of said surfaces and said presser roller can be rolled over the second-mentioned and first-menfaces, and said pressing means being mounted at the bottom of the frame so that said pressing means may successively contact with said two surfaces while said portion of thebottom of the frame is resting upon the first-mentioned surface.

12. In a machine of the character described, a frame including two side pieces having arms intermediate the lengths of the bottom edges thereof, means on said frame for holding a supply of adhesive sheet material to be applied to a surface,.means for moistening said material, a presser roller mounted on and between said arms to press said material into contact with;a surface, means for-feeding said material into operative relation to said moistening means andv .a yoke pivotally mounted between its ends between and on said arms and, having a presser rollerat each end thereof for pressing said material into contact with a surface, means for feeding said material into operative relation to said moistening means and into operative relation to said presser rollers, a driving roller mounted on said frame in advance of said presser rollers in the direction ofmovement of the machine over, a surface, and anoperative connection between said driving roller and said feedingmeans.

14. In a machine of the character, described, a frame, a shaft thereon to support a roll of adhesive sheet material to be applied to a surface, means for moistening the adhesive, means, for pressing said sheet material into contact with said surface during movement of said frame over said surface, means for feeding said sheet material from said roll into operative relation to said moistening means formoistening said adhesive and into operative relation to said pressing means, means operated by contact thereof with. said surface as said frame is moved over said surface for driving said feeding'meansa pair of side plates one to frictionally engage each side of said roll for centering said roll on said shaft, means for adjustably mounting said, side plates on the frame to accommodate rolls of different lengths, and spring means for yieldingly pressing said plates against said roll to retardv unrolling thereof.

JOSEPH GECZY. 

